The Festival of Lights
by Shota Luka
Summary: Shiroyuki Mika is Byakuran's long lost little sister. She's been adopted many times before. Her only regret is the past tragedies she had witnessed. Will the festival of lights change her views and bring back her happiness that supposidly burned away?
1. Reuniting

**Okay, so this story is seriously umm...has nothing to do...much...with the manga. It does not follow the storyline, nope, it's just something I thought of.....because I was really bored...and.......yes, some characters might be OOC, and it does include one of my OCs......**

_A fallen leaf finds its way gently to the tip of my nose._

_I breathe in the fresh air of the cool Italian spring._

_What a wonderful life, I thought_

_* * * * *_

_A scared tree limb snaps and finds its way to the cold barren earth._

_The once cool Italian spring is now filled with lies, hatred, and the smoke of flames._

_I hate this, I don't want to live in a life like this, I bitterly thought to myself._

My name is Mika. Shiroyuki Mika.

Shiroyuki, the majestic white of the fallen snow.

Mika, the fragrance of beauty.

I once lived in a small countryside in the rural areas of Italy, where the flowers bloomed for miles and the warmth spread from place to place.

I don't remember much.

I remember my childhood, raised by families that had adopted me.

I had been adopted all my life. I never had any permanent family. In fact, I never knew my actual parents. I was with my adopted families all my life, living in the meadows of rural Italy.

I lived with a total of two families.

One was the family of a Mafia leader. He had already two children, a silver haired boy who was the same age as I, and a magenta haired girl that was older than I. I found out not much later that I was only adopted to keep the silver haired boy company and be his friend.

When the boy, whose name I recall was Gokudera Hayato, ran away from the family, I was returned to the orphanage, for I was of no use anymore.

I was then adopted by a family who lived in a village in the rural part of Italy.

When I was twelve, a fire burned down the whole village of the family I was living with at the time, along with the people who thrived there. My adopted family, my friends, my loved ones, my happiness.

All of that burned away in the bitter flames.

* * * * *

"I think you'll be happy to know that there is someone willing to take you in." said the orphanage's caretaker.

Mika looked up from the small book she was reading.

"Who?" she asked in her small voice.

It had been four years since the fatal fire that had took away her loved ones. Now, she was 16 and was in an orphanage right outside a large city in Italy.

"Oh, he claims to be your relative, and has been searching for you for a long time." replied the caretaker.

Mika brushed her white, silken hair out of her eyes and rubbed fatigue out of her lavender eyes.

"Come with me, he's waiting at the front." said the caretaker as he gestured for Mika to follow him.

She nodded, stood up, then followed the caretaker to the front of the orphanage.

"Ah, yes, here she is." said the caretaker.

The front of the orphanage had a large glass window that faced the ocean. The light from the morning sun shone in and blinded Mika, making her almost unable to see the figure of the male there to see her and his companion.

"Ah, so here is my little sister. My, she looks just like me," came a gentle male voice, "What do you think, Shou-chan?"

The second figure, who was as well male, stuttered then responded.

"Erm...uh...Yes, I see the resemblance, Byakuran-san." replied the second figure.

The first figure approached Mika, his footsteps sounding of boots, yet the steps were so light you had to concentrate to make them out.

Mika then saw the features that he had.

The man, who's name was apparently Byakuran, had white, spiky hair, resembling the shade of her own, and small lavender eyes, the pupils the same shade as her own.

A hand reached out and gently stroked her face.

"It's nice to meet you, Mika-chan. I'm your 'long lost brother'." said Byakuran with a kind smile on his face.

"Mika's luggage; is it ready?" Byakuran called to the caretaker.

"Yes, we'll be loading it onto your car shortly." said the caretaker with a bow.

"You'll be coming to live with me, to make up for all the years we were apart." said Byakuran as he gestured to his companion to come over.

"I'd like you to meet my personal assistant, Irie Shoichi. I prefer to call him Shou-chan though, 'cause 'Irie Shoichi' sounds to formal." said Byakuran.

Mika got the sense that this Byakuran, or rather, her 'long lost brother' was a rather laid back fellow.

"Now, lets go. The car's waiting. There is so much I must tell you and so much you must know." said Byakuran as he led Mika outside, followed by a frantic Irie Shoichi calling "WAIT!!"

The door of the fancy white car was opened, and Mika was gestured inside to the fine black leather seats.

Byakuran followed in second, followed by Irie.

The driver of the car closed the door. Mika could hear some of Byakuran's companions loading her bag of belongings into the trunk of the car.

"Umm, Byakuran-sa-"

Byakuran put a finger to her lips.

"I'm your brother. You don't have to be so formal." said Byakuran with a smile to his face as he lifted the finger.

"Umm, _Onii-san_, are you rich?" asked Mika with a hint of curiosity.

She eyed Byakuran's fine tailored white suit and Irie's white uniform.

"Hmn," responded Byakuran, "I guess you can say that."

Mika heard the car start.

She hadn't been inside a car for a long time. In fact, the last time she actually saw one was when she lived with Gokudera Hayato.

"_Saa_." said Byakuran as the car jolted and drove away.

Onii-san – Big brother, for those who don't know.....

Oh and, the kanji for Shiroyuki, Shiro – white, Yuki- Snow, and for Mika, Mi- Beautiful, Ka- Fragrance

**Okay, you probably guessed this already:**

**I KNOW ALMOST NOTHING ABOUT ITALY**

**I just guessed and tried the best as I could.**

**Some things might be somewhat true, but I'm sure that if you're reading this and you have either a) lived in Italy b) studied Italy's landscape c) Are there right now or d) are smarter than me, you know that I've just made most of this up off the top of my head.....**


	2. Explained

**And yet, here is another chapter, by me, with the always somewhat OOC characters and my OC. I wonder why I'm so bad at copying a character's personality, unless they are my own..........-still having trouble interpreting Italy...cuz...u know I'm kind of stupid.....-**

Mika sat quietly against the black leather seats of the fancy white car that belonged to her recently discovered older brother, Byakuran.

Her simple blue blouse, white lace skirt, and cork and lace sandals made her look like a common civilian compared to the fine apparel of her older brother and his assistant, Irie Shoichi.

Mika glanced out the car window at the clear azure sky and then at the vast meadow, populated with various flora.

"How pretty..." she whispered under her breath.

"You like flowers?" asked Byakuran.

"Mhm," nodded Mika, her face brightening up, "Actually, I used to live with a family in the rural parts of Italy. The village face a large meadow, and every spring, I liked to pick flowers there as gifts."

"Really? What happened?" asked Byakuran out of mere curiosity

Mika's smiled slightly faded as tears began to form at the ends of her eyes.

"One of the villagers accidentally tripped and spilled their crops on the body of a passing aristocrat's wife. She got very cross and cursed him out. Two days later, he returned with his family. They argued with a lot of the villagers. In the end, even though the villager sought for peace, the aristocrat's family members burned down the village. I was the only one left." said Mika, her tears building up.

Soon enough, she was gently tearing.

Byakuran reacted quickly. He took his hand and gently wiped away her tears.

"It's okay. Those times are over. You're in a much safer place." he said softly.

Mika looked up and smiled slightly.

"I guess." she said quietly.

_No way can I tell her that it was someone I know who did that,_ thought Byakuran.

"Master Byakuran, we're here." said the driver.

"Ah, thanks." said Byakuran.

Mika looked up and saw an impossibly white castle. It was rather large, larger than anything she'd ever seen or heard of.

"Wow...." gasped Mika under her breath.

"_Saa_, what do you think?" he said to Mika.

"It's huge." said Mika, her level of vocabulary dumbing down for she was speechless at the marvel.

"It's even larger inside. Just wait till I show you." said Byakuran as the car stopped and the car door opened.

Byakuran led her into the castle.

The first room in the castle was big enough to be a ballroom, it might even be bigger.

Many of Byakuran's men were working there, decorating and cleaning.

"Is something important coming up?" asked Mika.

Byakuran looked at her.

"Ah, we're having the festival soon." said Byakuran.

"Festival? What's that?" asked Mika.

"I'll explain later. Right now, I just want to get to know you better." said Byakuran.

Byakuran led her up many flights of stairs to what seemed like the fifth floor of the castle. He made a left down a vast hallway decorated with many valuables. He stopped at a set of wooden double doors.

He grasped the handle. When it clicked, he opened the door to reveal what seemed like his personal quarters.

In the center wall of the large room was a large window that took up the whole wall. In front of it was a large white sofa, complemented by cloud blue and lavender pillows.

At one side of the room was a very large bed with lace curtains surrounding the sides. At the other side was a large wardrobe.

Byakuran took a seat on the couch and gestured for Mika to join him.

Mika took a seat next to him, and Byakuran turned to face her.

"I bet you have a lot of questions to ask." said Byakuran.

Mika nodded.

"Go on and ask. I'll try to answer as many as I can." said Byakuran.

"Why was I separated when I was little?" asked Mika.

"It was to protect you. Your mother and father thought that the life you were born into was too dangerous for someone as fragile as you to endure." said Byakuran.

"Why?" asked Mika.

"I am the boss of the Millefiore Family. We're a mafia family." said Byakuran.

Mika was not surprised.

The tailored clothing, the fancy cars, the almost impossible castle, it all linked together to one fact.

"I see." said Mika.

"Would you like to ask anything else?" asked Byakuran, his face leaning in slightly closer.

"What's the festival?" asked Mika.

"The festival of lights. Every year, the Vongola family comes over to our castle to celebrate. You might call it the Millefiore Annual Party. It's held every year at around this time. It lasts for ten days." said Byakuran.

"Vongola, are they a mafia also?" asked Mika.

Byakuran nodded.

"I see..." said Mika.

"Hey, umm, are mom and dad here?" asked Mika.

"Hmn?" Byakuran said.

"Umn...no, uh, they aren't." said Byakuran.

"Oh...I see." said Mika, her expression changing slightly.

She looked closely at Byakuran, observing his features.

He was quite tall. He also didn't seem anymore than a year or two older than her. His facial features looked as if they were sculpted out of fine marble. His eyes were small, but she could tell immediately he had lavender eyes, for even though he blinked a lot, the eye color was a bit abnormal, therefore easy to spot.

His build looked strong. He had a single ring, a blue curved gemstone placed into the silver structure to resemble that of an angel's outstretched wings.

"What's that?" she pointed to the ring on Byakuran's hand.

Byakuran looked down to his own hand.

"Hmn? This? This is my Mare Ring." he said, holding it up to show her.

"Mare...ring? What's that?" asked Mika, gently holding Byakuran's hand with both of hers and examining the ring.

"It's part of a set. The other six rings belong to the members of my guardians, or as I call them, the six Funeral Wreaths." said Byakuran with a smile on his face.

"Funeral...Wreaths? What a fitting name for members of a mafia..." murmured Mika.

Byakuran laughed.

"_Maa_, I guess." said Byakuran.

There was a knock on the door.

"Byakuran-san? Are you there?" came the familiar voice of Irie Shoichi.

"Come in." said Byakuran.

Shoichi opened the door and stepped inside.

"Byakuran-san, we have to finish preparations for the festival." said Shoichi.

"Aww, okay Shou-chan." said Byakuran as he stood up.

"The festival? When does it begin?" asked Mika.

"Tonight." replied Byakuran.

"_Saa, ikou-ka?_" said Byakuran as he gestured for Mika to follow him.

Mika nodded and followed Byakuran back down the many flights of stairs to reach the ballroom.

From the twenty minutes spent up in Byakuran's private quarters, the ballroom changed quite a bit.

Before, there were dozens of cardboard boxes lying around and littering the floor.

Now, the boxes were gone and the room was dusted to a point where it might have shone brighter than the sun.

"Wow." gasped Mika as she looked around.

"Amazing, isn't it?" commented Byakuran.

Mika smiled.

"Mhm." agreed Mika

**As you can tell, I probably suck at doing this......I try as hard as I can to make Byakuran the most Byakuran-like I can, but when it comes to writing, I just can't freakin' control myself...Can someone tell me the personalities of the six funeral wreaths (the real ones) cuz I haven't read the manga that far yet so I'm not sure....-ehehehe-**


	3. Millefiore Castle

**Anyway, I've finally regained my self-esteem and have continued writing chapters....there might be some periods of time between each chapter, but that just means I have another test or exam to study for..........**

**That's why this is an especially long chapter!! =3**

The preparations were finally done, and in a few hours, the Vongola would start arriving.

Byakuran wanted to settle Mika in as soon as possible.

* * * * *

"Here it is your own room!" said Byakuran, outstretching his arm as to emphasize the moment.

_Right next to yours..._, thought Mika.

In fact, there was even a door that linked both of their rooms together. Byakuran said that if she ever needed any help, she could just go through the door without the trouble of walking out her door and knocking on his.

"It's....really spacious." commented Mika as she looked around.

The room was large, almost as large as Byakuran's own room. The bed was on the side of the room that faced Byakuran's room. In fact, it was the closest thing there was to the door that linked both of their rooms.

There was also a large window that took up around a quarter of the large center wall. The dresser was already filled with her clothing, and a wooden desk was pilled with most of her books and other items.

"Thank you." she said to Byakuran, turning to him with a smile that shone like a pearl.

Byakuran liked that smile. It made him feel happy as well.

He smiled back.

"I'm glad you like it." he responded.

"Now, would you like to go down for lunch?" asked Byakuran.

Mika thought for a second.

In truth, she hadn't eaten anything decent in a week. In fact, the doctors declared her underweight, but asides from that healthier than anything they had ever seen.

"Sure." responded Mika.

Mika followed Byakuran back down the stairs to the dining room, which was on the second floor.

"Master Byakuran, thank goodness you got here before the food got cold!" cried one maid.

"No worries, I can eat anything." said Byakuran with a foolish smile on his face.

"Ah, Byakuran-san, you're here!" said a startled Shoichi looking up from his clipboard.

They seated around one end of a large table.

"Ah, Byakuran-san, the others already left to fetch some of the last minute necessities." said Shoichi.

"Ah, I see." said Byakuran as he picked up a marshmallow from a small plate besides his main dish.

Mika looked at him as he ingested the marshmallow with one bite.

"Um...Byakuran-nii-san, I'm not sure that eating marshmallows for lunch is a very bright idea to keep one's health up." she said softly.

Irie gave her a look that read _I've been trying to tell him that for years_!

Byakuran looked over.

"It's okay. My health's never been better." said Byakuran.

Shoichi's look turned to one that read _Yeah, I'm sure ingesting irregular amounts of sugar everyday makes a man immortal_.

Mika sighed but kept a smile on her face.

"_Saa, saa_, _Itadakimasu._" said Byakuran.

Each person had a different food on their plate.

Byakuran, apparently loved sweets too much. His plate consisted of Japanese Sakura Mochi, a side of salad, and some marshmallows.

Shoichi had a chicken breast and a side of salad.

Mika smiled at her plate.

Apparently Byakuran already knew she didn't regularly eat meat. Her plate consisted of a much larger salad with bread crumbs.

_So he really is my brother_ thought Mika with a smile as she picked up her salad fork and started to eat.

* * * * *

After the meal, Byakuran said he had to do something, so Mika could roam around the castle as much as she wanted.

Mika started with the fifth floor, going into as many rooms as she could. On some she had to knock first to see if anyone was there and if there was if they could let her in.

So far, she found that the fifth floor was more of Byakuran's private floor. She also found out that the castle consisted of six floors, on top of which were meeting rooms, Byakuran's office, and where every conference and important business was settled.

The top floor also had a garden of various colored orchid flowers, mostly white ones. There were also other flowers, such as carnations, morning glory, and some of which she could not identify.

Mika made her way down to the fourth floor, where she bumped into Shoichi.

"Ah, Shoichi-san!" called Mika after recovering from their collision.

"Eh, Mika-san! Uh, no need to be so formal, you're Byakuran's relative. You're in a much higher social class than me." said Shoichi readjusting his glasses.

Mika smiled.

"There's no such thing as social class. People are people." said Mika.

Mika looked over at Shoichi's clipboard.

"Hmn? What are you doing?" asked Mika.

Shoichi looked down at his clipboard.

"Byakuran-san is a bit too carefree, so he needs people to tell him when he has to do his work." said Shoichi.

"Eh? He is?" said Mika.

"Sadly, yes. Now, if you'll excuse me, we have to finish the preparations for the festival." said Shoichi.

"Okay." said Mika as she got up and she and Shoichi went their separate ways.

Mika found that most of Byakuran's important people (such as Shoichi and his six funeral wreaths) lived on the fourth floor. Although, each floor was huge, so Mika couldn't comprehend why they didn't just all live on one floor, though.

In truth, one floor in the Millefiore Castle could probably house the whole Millefiore Family with still a few rooms to spare.

Mika went to the third floor, which was consisted almost entirely of guest rooms.

_This must be where the Vongola stay every year_ thought Mika.

She then made her way to the second floor, where most of the maids, butlers, and workers lived. The second floor also held the dining rooms, the kitchen, and the pantry.

"As to be expected." murmured Mika as she made her way up the stairs.

Mika reached her room and opened the door. She found Byakuran standing in the middle of the room.

"The Vongola are arriving soon. You should go wash up and put on some fresh clothes." said Byakuran.

"Okay." said Mika as Byakuran went back to his room.

Mika chose out of her limited wardrobe a much fancier but shorter white lace skirt that went up to her knees instead of to her claves, and a sky blue blouse with ribbons that went around her wrists and neck.

In truth, Mika enjoyed dressing in shades of blue and white. It made her feel comfortable. Mika loved the clear azure sky. It gave her a feeling of warmth and sanctuary.

Mika brushed her long hair and pushed some fringes that were covering her face to the back of her ear.

She retied the blue ribbons that held up her cork-bottom sandals.

Mika washed her face in the sink, then went over and knocked on the door that connected hers and Byakuran's rooms.

"There's no need to knock," called Byakuran, "Just come right in."

Mika opened the door to find Byakuran sitting on the couch, as if he was waiting for her.

"The Vongola will be here any second now. To be polite, we're meeting them outside." said Byakuran as he got up and placed a hand on Mika's shoulder.

"_Saa, Ikou-ka_?" he said smiling.

Byakuran and Mika met Shoichi down at the front of the castle. He hadn't changed, but his hair looked slightly neater than before.

"Oh, there they come." called Byakuran as he gestured to a few expensive looking black cars than pulled up into the clearing.

The driver came out of the front seat of one of the cars and opened the door.

Out stepped a chestnut-haired male with brown eyes wearing a dark suit.

"Hello, Byakuran." he said.

"Nice to see you again, Tsunayoshi-kun." said Byakuran.

**OKAI! So, I avoided the part of introducing the six funeral wreaths. This is simply because I'm still brutally studying their personalities. Anyway, I'm not sure that I'll write much about the six funeral wreaths except maybe their names.**

**Sorry for the inconvenience. –bows-**

**I'll upload another chapter soon, still got to catch up on my other story....that Dei is forcing me to finish...... .**


	4. Rememberance

**Hello again!!!**

**I'm BAK!!!!**

**I'm currently studying Reborn manga instead of science or social studies like I'm supposed to =3**

**I'm wondering if anyone notices each chapter gets longer by like a few words or so every time........(because I'm not =3)**

**Also, in this story, I'm making Chrome and Mukuro two separate people who appear at the same time so I don't get confused.....**

"Mika-chan, this is Sawada Tsunayoshi-kun, the head of the Vongola family." said Byakuran.

"Nice to meet you." said the chestnut haired male.

Mika smiled.

"Nice to meet you too." she replied.

From the other side of the car emerged a silver haired male with green eyes that Mika could recognize anywhere.

"Gokudera Hayato?" Mika asked.

The man turned around and gasped.

"Ah! You're....that girl. Mika." he said.

"You know each other?" asked the chestnut haired male and Byakuran at the same time.

Mika nodded and Gokudera started to explain.

"When I was little, my father adopted a girl to keep me company and one day marry." said Gokudera.

"After you left, he returned me to the orphanage where I was adopted by another family." continued Mika.

"Really?" said Gokudera.

Mika nodded.

"Crap. I should have thought of that...." murmured Gokudera.

"It's okay. Besides, my brother found me also." said Mika.

"Brother?" both the chestnut haired male and Gokudera asked at the same time.

Byakuran waved.

Both went slack-jawed in less than a second.

_I didn't think it was possible_ thought Gokudera.

_I don't see the resemblance...oh...wait...I do _thought Tsuna.

Tsuna regained his posture and smiled.

From the other cars emerged more members of the Vongola family.

"Mika, do you want to wait inside? This part usually gets a bit out of control." said Byakuran.

"I'll go with her." volunteered Gokudera.

"Uh, okay." said Mika as Gokudera walked with her inside.

Gokudera took her to a corner of the front room.

"So, Byakuran really is your brother?" asked Gokudera.

Mika nodded.

"As far as I know." she replied.

"I see." said Gokudera, turning his head the opposite way.

"Hey, Hayato-kun, how've you been doing lately?" asked Mika.

"Ah! Better than ever!" answered Gokudera.

"Mika-chan!" called Byakuran.

"Gokudera-kun!" called Tsuna.

"Coming!" replied Mika.

"Ah, Juudaime." called Gokudera as they both made their ways to where Byakuran and Tsuna were.

"What is it?" asked Mika.

Byakuran gestured to the members of the Vongola family.

"_Saa_, let Tsunayoshi-kun here introduce you to the Vongola Guardians." said Byakuran.

Tsuna took over, beginning by gesturing to Gokudera.

"Well, Gokudera is one." said Tsuna.

Mika nodded.

Instead of Tsuna speaking, a dark haired male carrying what seemed to be a sword spoke up.

"My name's Yamamoto Takeshi." he said pointing to himself.

"SASAGAWA RYOHEI TO THE EXTREME!" cried a silver haired male, punching his fist in the air.

"OI! Let Juudaime introduce you!" yelled Gokudera.

"Gokudera-kun, it's okay." said Tsuna reassuringly.

"I'M LAMBO-" cried a child in a cow print suit and afro before he was kicked down by another child in a suit and hat that landed on Tsuna's head.

"Oi, Reborn." said Tsuna.

"Don't worry Tsuna, he's okay." said the child in the suit.

"Children in the mafia?" murmured Mika.

"Don't underestimate me by my looks." responded the child.

_What a strange Mafia_ thought Mika.

"Um, Hibari-san, aren't you going to introduce yourself?" asked Tsuna, his words directed to a dark messy haired male who had just stepped out of the last car.

The male didn't respond.

"Hibari-san?" asked Tsuna.

"What." responded the male in a low voice.

"Um, aren't you going to introduce yourself?" asked Tsuna, a slight hint of fear in his voice.

"To who." responded the male.

Tsuna gestured to Mika.

"So?" responded the male, showing no interest of any sort.

"OI! At least try to be polite!" yelled Gokudera.

"You're loud. I'll bite you to death." said the male.

"WANNA BET?" yelled Gokudera.

"Gokudera-kun! Hibari-san!" cried Tsuna.

"Stop it. Fighting wont solve anything." interrupted Mika, her face a blank expression.

The messy haired male glanced in her direction.

"_Wao_." he simply said.

"Umn. That's Hibari Kyoya-san." said Tsuna with a hint of embarrassment in his voice.

"Tsunayoshi-kun, aren't you forgetting someone?" said Byakuran.

Tsuna looked around.

"Ah, Where's Rokudo Mukuro-san?" said Tsuna.

The man named Hibari jerked at the mention of the name.

"Oya, what do we have here?" came a somewhat ghostly male voice.

From another car emerged an indigo haired male.

"One of yours?" he directed to Byakuran.

Byakuran smiled.

"I guess you could say that." he responded.

"Kufufu, how interesting." said the indigo haired male.

"My name is Rokudo Mukuro. Nice to meet you." he said.

"Shiroyuki Mika. Nice to meet you as well." responded Mika.

"_Saa,_ why don't we continue inside. I'm pretty sure the sun will start setting soon." said Byakuran.

Tsuna nodded; henceforth the Vongola did so as well, except for Hibari.

"I hate crowds." he responded when Mika asked him to join them.

"Hating crowds doesn't benefit. Besides, you're around people all your life." said Mika.

Hibari didn't answer.

"Suit yourself then." said Mika as she disappeared into the castle.

"Hmph." murmured Hibari.

"Hey, Tsunayoshi-san, what's with the Hibari guy?" asked Mika as she approached Tsuna.

Tsuna turned around.

Mika just noticed that Tsuna looked the same age as her, in fact, none of his guardians looked like they were over the age of 18 yet.

Mika examined Shoichi.

He didn't look much older than Byakuran, perhaps he was younger.

_Children in the Mafia? What strange logic_ thought Mika.

Just then, Mika was tapped on the back.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Shiroyuki Mika-dono. My name is Basil" said a hazel haired male, his face gentle and kind.

Mika smiled slightly.

"No, the pleasure's all mine." she replied.

"Mika-chan!" called the voice of Byakuran.

Mika headed to where Byakuran was, at the top of the wide stairwell.

Mika watched as members of the Vongola, some actually adults, gather inside the front room of the Millefiore Castle.

"Welcome, Vongola-tachi, to my fine home for another year's celebration." said Byakuran.

There was a stream of applause.

"I hope this year can be as fun as the last, maybe even better." said Byakuran.

"_Saa_, I'd like to introduce a new member of my family. Not my mafia family, but my blood relative." said Byakuran, gesturing to Mika.

"Allow me to introduce Shiroyuki Mika. My younger sister." he said.

There was another round of applause.

"Now, if I may, I'd like to officially begin the Festival of Lights." said Byakuran, holding out his arms to emphasize the moment.

The applause grew louder.

_Festival of Lights, huh. I wonder if it'll be fun_ thought Mika.

**AMAZING DISCOVERY!!!!!!!!!**

**When I type in 'Mika' in my Japanese language bar, I also get the result ****実花 ****which somewhat means "funeral wreath" in Chinese according to my cousin =P I was thinking while I was writing **_**Everything in Byakuran's family has a flower for a name**_** so I opened my language bar, typed in Mika, and WAO! =3 Funeral Wreath....Hey...I could use that in this story....-evil laugh-**


	5. Unknown Promise

**Ello~ I'm back!!!!**

**I'm analyzing Reborn Manga like mad, and one of my friends (yes Koyu I mean U) has bought several strange Byakuran posters......(Hika: at least none of dem are nekkid Hibaris hahahaha –gets hit by tonfa- Hibari: I'll bite you to death if you utter one more word.....) =3**

The applause slowly ceased.

After Byakuran's announcement, the Vongola started getting themselves settled into their guest rooms on the third floor.

Mika had been good friends with Gokudera when they were little. There was so much she wanted to know and so much she wanted to tell, but inside her, she felt it was best to keep it silent.

Who knows, he might even have a girlfriend.

"Mika-chan, is something wrong?" Byakuran woke her from her train of thought.

"Hmn? Oh nothing." responded Mika.

"I see. Well then, would you like to get more acquainted with the Vongola?" asked Byakuran.

"Eh? Sure." said Mika as she followed Byakuran up to the third floor.

"They've stayed in the same exact rooms ever since the first time I've hosted the festival. In fact, most of the rooms still resemble their personalities from years past." said Byakuran as they strolled down the hallway, passing members of the Vongola, some arguing and some laughing.

Mika saw one particular room that stood out among the others.

This room's door was not of the fancy European style that the whole entire castle consisted of.

The door to this room was a traditional Japanese rice paper sliding door.

Mika stopped in front of the door and stared.

"Whose room is this?" she asked out of curiosity.

"That's Hibari-san's room." came the voice of none other than Tsuna.

Mika turned around.

"Hmn? How come his room's different from the others?" asked Mika.

"Umn, Hibari-san's very fond of his hometown. It's his pride." responded Tsuna.

Mika smiled slightly.

"I see." she said.

"SHUT UP LAWN HEAD!!!" came the aggressive voice of Gokudera Hayato.

"No! You shut up Tako-head!!!" replied the voice of none other than Sasagawa Ryohei.

Tsuna turned around to see the duo staring at each other aggressively.

"Gokudera-kun, Onii-san, what now?" asked Tsuna.

"This idiot's been yelling KYOKUGEN (to the extreme) for the last ten minutes and it's echoing through the walls so loud I can't think!" cried Gokudera.

"AT LEAST I'M ENERGETIC TO THE EXTREME!" relied Ryohei.

"There, see, he said it again!" cried Gokudera.

"I can't help if I'm happy!" responded Ryohei.

The two continued bickering for no apparent reason.

Mika walked up to the dueling pair and softly whapped both of their heads with the palm of her hand.

Both looked down.

"Fighting solves nothing. Problems are best solved in civil manners." said Mika.

Both were speechless, then returned to their rooms.

"See? Problems are best solved in quiet civil manners." said Mika.

Just then, a teal headed male in a black suit came up to Byakuran.

"Byakuran-sama, there's still a bit more work to do." he said to Byakuran.

Mika looked over.

"Who's that?" she asked Byakuran.

Byakuran looked at her with a smile.

"Meet Kikyo, one of my six Funeral Wreaths." said Byakuran.

The teal headed male looked over at with a small grin.

"Now then, Byakuran-sama." he said.

Byakuran turned to Mika.

"I'll leave you here to wander. I'll be back soon." said Byakuran as he was forcefully led down the hall by the man named Kikyo.

"One of the six Funeral Wreaths?" murmured Mika under her breath.

She quickly examined the teal haired male.

His teal hair was tied up in a long ponytail from the back of his head and went down his back. His features were smooth, like marble. His eyes had...makeup, she presumed.

_What a strange man_ thought Mika.

Mika decided to roam around the third floor and meet some people, since it didn't seem most of the Vongola members closed their doors often.

She saw most of the Vongola Guardians and some other people who were associated with the Vongola.

Mika then turned the corner into a hallway with a dead end. The atmosphere in this particular hallway was different. It was more...eerie.

"VOI!" she heard.

There came shouts from one of the rooms.

Mika walked towards the room she presumed the shouts were coming from.

The door was open, so she stuck her head in to see what the commotion was about.

Inside the room, she saw a long white haired male in black clothing shouting at another man who was seated in a fancy chair.

_What exactly is this scene_ thought Mika to herself.

Suddenly, the white haired male turned around to look at her.

"Euh? Who're you?" he asked in a rough voice.

Mika reacted.

"Ah, my name is Shiroyuki Mika. I'm Byakuran's younger sister." she said.

"That guy's sibling? Eh.......I don't see much of the resemblance." said the man squinting.

"I'm Squalo." said the man.

"Nice to meet you." said Mika.

"Oh yeah," added Squalo, "Would you mind closing the door on your way out?"

Mika nodded and did as he said.

When the door clicked, the yelling presumed.

_What a strange duo_ thought Mika.

She walked over to another room whose door was unlocked. There was a conversation going on in this room as well.

"But, Bel-sempai, if you did that wouldn't you be laughed at by everyone?" came a flat male voice.

"Shut up. I don't need you telling me what to do. A prince decides for himself." said another male voice.

Mika looked inside this room.

There were also two people inside. One was a blonde male with a striped shirt and a tiara on his head. The other one had green hair and an abnormally large frog hoodie that looked like it was eating his head.

"But I was just saying, Bel-sempai-" began the green haired male.

"Oi, someone's here." interrupted the blonde.

"Eh, uh, my name is Shiroyuki Mika, Byakuran's younger sister." said Mika.

"My name is Belphegor, I'm a prince," said the blonde male, "that's Fran."

"Hello." said the green headed male flatly.

_Does this guy have emotions?_ thought Mika.

"Hey, Bel-sempai, does she look familiar?" asked Fran.

"Eh, how would I know." said Belphegor.

"Oh yeah, isn't that the girl in the picture?" asked Fran.

Belphegor paused for a moment, his mouth a flat line.

"Eh, looks like her." he replied.

Bel reached into his pocket and pulled out a small slip of paper and tossed it to Fran.

"You take a look." he said.

Fran obediently opened the folded photo. He examined Mika and then the picture.

"Ah, looks like it is." he responded.

Fran handed the photo over to Mika.

"Is this you?" he asked.

Mika carefully took the photo and looked at it.

In the photo was a white haired little girl around five years old in a lush garden picking flowers. She recognized this scenery as the garden in Gokudera's family's castle.

"Yes. That's me." she said handing the picture back to Fran, who handed it back to Belphegor.

Belphegor looked at the picture then put it back in his pocket.

"So it is you. You're the girl whose family sent the wedding proposal 11 years ago." said Bel.

**Yes, I'm sure NONE of you were expecting that!!! (or maybe you were but if you were, I guess you might be able to READ MINDS!!!) I all of a sudden got interested in the Varia (BEL-KUN AND FRAN 4 LIFE!! *maybe Squalo too*) so I just felt like writing it~**

**Okay, so, I'll be able to make the Gokudera's family thing work out. I know in previous chapters I wrote that she was supposed to marry Haya-kun, but then when I was sleeping I thought of something else~ (hehehe)**


	6. Relief

**Ello! I'm very busy but I decided to write a chapter anyways because of the awesomeness of the Varia~**

**And an answer to one of the reviews: It came to me in a dream, I saw one on my friends and then Belphegor kneeling down and asking her to marry him I was like WTF!!!**

Mika looked surprised to hear the news.

"Eh? Hayato's family...sent a wedding proposal? But I thought that I was supposed to marry Hayato." said Mika.

Bel turned to her.

"In the proposal, it stated that you were supposed to marry either me or my brother, Sil, but he's dead and the wedding proposal was approved years ago." said Bel.

"Then why was I sent back to the orphanage?" asked Mika, even though she knew she wouldn't likely get a response.

"When the proposal was approved, you were already gone, so the proposal couldn't be finished." said Bel.

Mika thought for a moment.

When she lived with Gokudera's family, they had always told her that her future was to be married to Gokudera. They spent a lot of time together because of that.

"Well, who cares now. I'm far away from my kingdom, so the issue's void." said Bel.

Mika's heart sighed.

_Thank god_ she thought.

"But Bel-sempai, didn't you used to go on about how you wished you could see the girl in the picture in real life and ask her personally if she wanted you and-" Fran's mouth was covered by Bel's hands before he could continue.

"Shut it." said Bel, restraining Fran's muffled voice.

Mika smiled.

_How cute_ she thought to herself.

"Ah, Mika-chan, so that's where you were!" came the voice of none other than Byakuran coming down the hall.

He stopped in the doorway and looked in.

Bel and Fran stopped struggling.

"Ah, hello." said Byakuran, his face turning into a smile.

Bel let go of Fran's face.

"Ah." he replied.

"Now, shall we go?" he gestured for Mika to follow him.

"See you later." said Mika to Bel and Fran as Byakuran led her back down the hall.

"What was that about?" asked Byakuran in a playful tone.

"Reminiscing in the past." replied Mika.

"I see..." said Byakuran.

Byakuran led her upstairs to his room and closed the door.

"The maids are preparing dinner." said Byakuran as he plopped himself down on the couch.

"Umn....why are we here?" asked Mika.

"I kind of overheard your conversations." said Byakuran.

"You did?" asked Mika.

"Your engagement with Belphegor of the Vongola's Varia is it true?" asked Byakuran.

"I never knew about it until today." said Mika.

"Oh, I see. Is it still going on?" asked Byakuran, his smile fading to seriousness with a slight sense of worry.

"According to him, it's been void since he left his kingdom." said Mika.

Byakuran's worry lifted a bit.

"Oh." he said.

"But marriage is a long way from now for me, so it doesn't really matter." said Mika, trying to cheer up Byakuran.

"Actually, if you're like our families, you could be engaged before you were born, as long as they knew if you were male or female." said Byakuran.

Mika laughed.

"I guess rich people just have that power." she said.

There was a knock on the door.

"Byakuran-sama, the meal is almost ready. Would you like to come down now?" came the voice of Kikyo.

"Byakuran-san, you should probably go down now." came to voice then face of Irie Shoichi as he opened one of the doors.

"Fine, Fine. Kikyo-kun, Shou-chan, we'll be right there." said Byakuran.

"Oh yeah, Kikyo-kun, Shou-chan. are the others back yet?" asked Byakuran.

"They're avoiding-er-not back yet." said Shoichi.

"I see." said Byakuran as he got up and signaled for Mika to follow him downstairs.

They went to the first floor's ballroom, which was set up with many tables already seated with people.

Byakuran sat down at one end of a table that was larger than the other tables and could seat many people. He signaled for Mika to sit next to him.

Shoichi sat down at the other side of Byakuran while Kikyo sat down next to Shoichi.

The rest of the table was filled with the Vongola Guardians, while there were still five empty seats.

"I guess they really didn't make it." said Byakuran sighing.

The maids came around with plates of food to each table.

Tsuna sat down at the other end of the table. Hibari Kyoya sat down next to Mika without even noticing her.

"Hello." said Mika.

Hibari turned to look at her.

"You again." he said.

"Yes, me again." responded Mika.

"See, it's almost impossible to completely avoid crowds." said Mika.

"Hmph." said Hibari.

Mika smiled.

_What an interesting man_ she thought to herself as the food was served.

Mika could see again that Byakuran liked sweets and didn't care much for his nutrition.

Mika sighed.

The maids were serving wine.

"No, I don't drink." responded Hibari when one of the maids asked him if he wanted any wine.

"A wise choice." said Mika to Hibari.

"Hmph." said Hibari.

When the maids were done serving wine, Byakuran stood up with his wine glass in one hand.

"Let this be a toast." said Byakuran, not entirely finishing his sentence.

_To what exactly_ thought Mika.

_Nothing at all_ read Shoichi's facial expression.

Members of the Vongola and Millefiore clinked their wine glasses together in a toast.

The meal began.

Mika glanced at Byakuran.

_Should you people actually be drinking at all!?!? _thought Mika as she glanced around the table.

Members of the Vongola all had wine glasses (except for perhaps Hibari) and were now taking sips from them.

_I thought they were all around 16 or 17_ thought Mika.

"Its dilated wine." whispered Shoichi.

_Even dilated, I don't think they should be drinking at all_ thought Mika.

Shoichi shrugged slightly.

Byakuran smiled at Mika as he took a sip from his wine.

Mika took a sip of her water and watched as people all around the large room started eating their food.

Mika noticed again how she had salad, just the way she liked it.

She smiled as she picked up her salad fork.

Members of the Vongola were laughing and talking. The people seated at the same table she was were talking and arguing away. Tsuna was trying to calm down Gokudera who was again arguing with Ryohei about some topic unknown to mankind.

"Hmph." she heard Hibari.

"Why do you hate crowds?" asked Mika.

Hibari looked at her.

"It's loud and an eyesore." responded Hibari.

"But why?" asked Mika.

"I don't feel like answering." said Hibari turning his head the other direction.

"Then I wont ask anymore." said Mika turning back to her salad.

After the meal, Byakuran told Mika to avoid the reception room for the rest of the night.

"Why?" she had asked.

"Things usually get a bit....vulgar....something not appropriate for your age." said Byakuran.

"You're not much older than me." said Mika.

"Well, it would be rude if I were to leave." said Byakuran.

"Fine, fine." said Mika.

To save electricity, all hallways had their lights switched off, so it was dark. The only light there was came from the moonlight through the windows.

Mika started to climb the stairs to the fifth floor. She had gotten up to the third floor when she saw two figures standing under a window, their figures dark under the moonlight.

Mika, curious as she was, decided to see who they were.

As she approached the two figures, she could slightly make out their features.

She focused more on their heads.

_Pineapple? _she thought.

"Oya, what do we have here?" came a familiar voice.

Mika could finally make out the figure of one.

It was Rokudo Mukuro, the man she had met earlier.

The other person she did not know. It was a girl, about the same age as her, maybe a year older.

She was identical to Mukuro in many ways, in such a way they might have been related.

"What brings you here?" asked Mukuro, his features sharpened by the moonlight.

"Uh, no particular reason." responded Mika.

"Shouldn't you be with your brother?" asked Mukuro, a smile remained on his face.

"He told me to avoid the reception room." said Mika.

"Kufufu, it usually does get a bit violent in there." said Mukuro.

"Now then, if you'll excuse me." said Mika as she turned back the other way.

"Just a second." said Mukuro.

He reached forward and gently grasped her hands.

He examined them for a moment, then let them go.

"Kufufu. How interesting." said Mukuro, then let her go.

"What's so funny?" asked Mika.

"It's so mind boggling, how he cares for you so much, yet never gave you any way of protection." said Mukuro.

"What do you mean?" asked Mika.

"Oh, you'll find out soon." said Mukuro, his laugh echoing through the dark hallways.

_Kufufufufufufufufufu-_

**I had no idea how to end this chapter XP I just wanted to keep typing and typing but then I thought that I should probably stop sooner or later so that you could all read it =3**


	7. Revelation

**Ahh~ How I love Christmas break, so much time....yet so much FRIKIN HOMEWORK**

Mukuro was gone from the hallways. All that was left was the girl who had been with him.

"Um....you are..." asked Mika.

"eh? Chrome...Dokuro." replied the girl in a small shaky voice.

She looked like Mukuro, except for the eye patch over one of her eyes.

"Um...excuse me." she said as she ran down the dark hallway, most likely searching for Mukuro.

Mika went up to the fifth floor and went inside her room. She plopped herself onto her bed, which was quite soft with linen sheets and silk curtains.

She lay down for a moment, then went over to the balcony hidden behind curtains and a large glass door.

Mika took a few deep breaths of the fresh night air, then remembered the rooftop garden.

Quietly, she made her way up to the garden, where surprisingly, she saw Hibari taking a nap in his suit.

Quietly, Mika walked over to him and observed his sleeping face.

He looked much calmer when he slept, almost angelic, if it weren't for the slightly frowning expression.

"What do you want?" came his voice.

Hibari didn't open an eye, but he yawned and stretched a little.

* * * * *

Mika sat down next to Hibari on the stone bench he had been napping on.

"Do you like flowers?" asked Mika to the sleepy Hibari.

"Not much." responded Hibari, still rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"How come you're not in the reception room?" asked Mika.

Hibari glanced at her.

"I prefer to stay away from large, noisy eyesores." said Hibari.

"Then what do you like?" asked Mika.

_Midori tanabiku, Namimori no~_

A high pitched little voice floated through the air, and on Hibari's finger landed a small yellow puff-ball bird.

Hibari showed the bird to Mika.

"Ah, how cute!" said Mika as she petted the little bird.

_Hibari, Hibari_

The puffball bird flew and landed on Hibari's head.

The moonlight shone and the crickets chirped.

Mika felt herself getting drowsy as the seconds passed.

Before she knew it, her head was on Hibari's shoulder.

"Nn?" Hibari glanced at her.

"I'm tired." yawned Mika, not aware of what she was doing or in what kind of position she was in.

Hibari didn't respond.

Mika felt her eyelids getting heavy, as she fell asleep right on the spot.

* * * * *

Mika woke up to a bright morning and the song of birds.

Hibari's jacket was on her.

"Ah, Mika-chan, that's where you were!" came the voice of Byakuran as he rushed into the garden, followed by a frantic Shoichi who hadn't even combed his hair yet.

Byakuran pretended not to notice Hibari's jacket as he knelt down besides Mika.

"What were you doing, sleeping here, you could have gotten a cold." said Byakuran.

"Sorry." apologized Mika.

"Well anyways, you should go back and freshen up. There's a lot planned for today." said Byakuran.

"Mhm, Okay." said Mika as she held onto Hibari's jacket and rushed to her room to wash and change clothes.

When Mika opened the door, she noticed a set of clothing neatly laid out on her bed. It looked mildly expensive.

_Based on your current clothing, I thought you might like it _read a card at the side of it.

Mika examined the clothing with a smile.

Indeed she did like it.

A white lace skirt that looked somewhat like Shoichi's uniform, and a somewhat bluish-white blouse and jacket that resembled as well Shoichi's uniform, but was of a different shade of white and did not have the metal parts.

Mika hurried to clean and change into the new clothing. At the side of the bed was a pair of silver boots that went up to her calves.

In the end, she did somewhat resemble Shoichi's uniform.

"Must be a Millefiore thing." she laughed.

Mika remembered Hibari's jacket.

Before going down to the dining hall, she stopped on the third floor and knocked on the wooden frame of Hibari's rice paper door.

It slid open a crack.

"What is it?" came the voice then face of Hibari.

"Here you go." said Mika as she held out Hibari's jacket.

"Ah, thanks." said Hibari.

* * * * *

After breakfast, Byakuran told Mika she was free to do anything she liked.

Mika went up to her room and opened the window to the balcony.

She took in a breath of fresh air and squinted at the morning sun.

"Ah ha, this reminds me of the old days." said Mika as she recalled her childhood in the small village.

She closed her eyes, reminiscing about the fields of flowers and the fresh foods.

She remembered all the people she knew and the good times they had together.

She took a step forward and leaned her stomach against the marble rail.

The spring breeze felt good against her skin.

"Ah! Look out!" called a voice.

Before she could react, a small flower pot hit her on the back of her head and caused her too lean too much forward.

Before Mika knew it, she was falling head first down towards the ground, five tall (VERY tall) stories underneath.

Mika closed her eyes and prepared for the impact.

She didn't land on the ground.

"Shishishi...what do we have here?" came a familiar voice.

Mika opened her eyes to see her in the arms of none other than Belphegor.

"Ah!" Mika gasped.

"Any earlier or later and you might have gotten blood all over me. It's rude to stain the clothes of a prince." said Bel with a strange smile.

Mika smiled back.

She knew he was trying to tell her to be more careful, even though it sounded kind of self-conceited.

Belphegor put her down.

"Ah, Bel-sempai, that's were you were." came the neutral voice of Fran.

"Princes are free to be wherever they want." said Bel.

"It's not that, Xanxas is getting impatient." said Fran.

"Chii." scoffed Bel.

"See ya." said Bel as he left with Fran.

"Ah, Mika-san, you okay?" came the voice of Shoichi, carrying his clipboard.

"Ah, I'm fine." responded Mika, noticing there was no Byakuran around.

"Hmn? How come you're not with Byakuran-nii-san?" asked Mika.

"Ah, Byakuran's kind of struggling with Xanxas," said Shoichi "Apparently the Varia's servants never showed up."

"Oh, I see." said Mika.

"VOI!!!! SHUT UP!!!!!" roared a familiar voice so loud that it echoed through the castle and even scared away the birds (and animals who were smart enough to run.)

"Ah, that must be Squalo-san getting angry again. I gotta go." said Shoichi as he ran back into the castle.

"Good luck." called Mika.

Mika spent the rest of the day with people from the Vongola, trying to calm down Xanxas (although Squalo's violent yelling and cussin' was making that almost impossible).

Mika found out that Gokudera was a lot more rough than he was a long time ago, and that he had a soft side for Tsuna, who had a hard time settling issues. She also got to know most of the Vongola better.

"VOI!!!!!! I SAID TO SHUT UP!"

"Burn in hell."

"WHAT WAS THAT?!?!"

"Burn in hell."

"ONE OF THESE DAYS I'M GOING TO DECAPITATE YOU!!!"

On and on the argument went. Back and forth went the vulgar.

Byakuran spent half the time covering Mika's ears with his hands and smiling wearily.

"_Maa, maa,_ calm down, you two." Tsuna said with another weary smile.

"TELL THAT TO HIM!" called Squalo, pointing his sword at Xanxas, who ignored Tsuna's existence.

Mika had almost no idea what was happening (since Byakuran kept covering her ears), but she still walked over to Squalo and Xanxas.

"Calm down." she said, her smile also weary.

The man named Xanxas looked over at her, his scarred face both an expression of boredom and anger.

"Arguing won't due much good." she said.

Everyone else was staring at her surprised and marveling her bravery.

"Yeah, if only this guy didn't have so many issues." Squalo scoffed.

"Nh?"

"For starters, the goddam' ass'ole keeps complaining we're getting him the wrong type of wine." said Squalo.

"And?" said Mika.

"Then Squalo gets a wine glass to the head." replied Belphegor with his signature smile on his face.

"Eh? Doesn't that hurt you?" asked Mika, her voice sounding concerned.

"When you've live with this jerk long enough you get used to it." coughed Squalo.

Xanxas said nothing in rebuttal.

* * * * *

"Good job, Mika-chan. You stopped the arguing." congratulated Byakuran.

Mika smiled.

"_Nee_, Mika-chan, how do you do it?" asked Tsuna.

"Hmn? Do what?" asked Mika.

"You're always not afraid of stopping other people from fighting." said Tsuna.

"Hmn? Does it seem unfitting?" asked Mika.

"Well, you seem so fragile..." said Tsuna.

A kick landed on his chin.

"Don't judge people by their appearances, Tsuna." came the voice of Reborn.

"Reborn...." said Tsuna.

Reborn hopped onto Yamamoto's shoulder.

"Hello." said Mika as she waved to Yamamoto and Reborn.

"Yo." Yamamoto raised a hand to say hello.

"_Saa_, Tsuna, shouldn't you be going to meet with Byakuran?" asked Reborn.

"Ah, that's right. See you later." called Tsuna as he rushed up to the fifth floor.

* * * * *

Since Byakuran was meeting with Tsuna, Mika was free to do whatever she wanted again.

Mika decided to go up to the flower garden again.

Unsurprisingly, Hibari was also there, again.

"Hello." said Mika, her face turning into a smile.

"Hey, you." said Hibari.

"Hmn?" asked Mika.

"When are you going to stop fake smiling?"

**Well, HAPPY HOLIDAYZ PPL I'll update soon ^0^ someone I knew said I should start typing omakes at the end of each chapter and story that I type because it would boost the "humor" 0.o I'm still not sure but I'll probably try next chapter ^0^**


	8. Ring

**Hello again peoples~**

**I've been drawing a lot of KHR characters lately, so I haven't had much time to type (ehehehe) Well, here it is~**

**BTW, the chapter title, I'm pretty sure at least one person thought it was going to be a wedding ring or proposal XD**

Mika turned her face the other way in embarrassment.

Her smile disappeared and was replaced with a look of sorrow.

"How did you know?" she asked.

Hibari yawned and sat up a little.

"Your eyebrows never change, and your voice is always the same tone." replied Hibari.

"Oh." said Mika.

"The truth is, I was only taken in by my brother, Byakuran, around two days ago. Before that, I...uh...well, it's kind of a long story." said Mika.

Hibari glanced at her, his face the unchanging look of boredom, then yawned.

"Go ahead. I'm bored anyways." said Hibari.

Mika explained to Hibari everything, from her time living with Gokudera's family and her family in the village that was burned away.

Mika also explained to Hibari the promise she made with a boy in the orphanage.

"Before he passed away, he told me that I should never show true emotion unless I was truly happy, that a smile should be for yourself and not someone else." said Mika.

"So I'm guessing nothing's made you happy?" asked Hibari.

"Ah." Mika nodded.

"Then find happiness yourself." said Hibari as the small yellow puffball bird returned to his shoulder.

Mika looked up.

"I guess so. Thank you." said Mika as she disappeared down the winding staircase.

"Hmph." muttered Hibari.

Handling women was just not his specialty.

* * * * *

Mika ended up stopping on the third floor again, since she didn't take the main staircase, but instead a smaller one that went up to the third floor.

This particular staircase led to the particular part of the third floor in which the Varia stayed.

Mika head more commotion.

"Oh come on, Squa, let me play with your beautiful hair." came a male voice (at least Mika was sure it was male).

"VOII!!! LUSSURIA!!! STOP TOUCHING ME!!!!!" came Squalo's loud voice.

"Ushishishi, gay couples should move to the other room for the sake of the straight people." came Belphegor's voice.

"Sempai's right. I don't wanna watch gay love." came Fran's voice.

"VOII SHADDUP I'M NOT GAY JUST TELL THIS FAG TO STOP TOUCHING ME!!!!!" cried Squalo.

"Squa's so mean. Besides, I don't mind if you're gay." came the voice of probably the one named Lussuria.

"I'M NOT GAY, LEVI'S GAY. THE FREAK LOVES XANXUS." cried Squalo.

"I'm not gay either!! Having respect for the boss does not count as being gay!" came another male voice.

"Shishishi, it does for this one. Haven't you noticed no one respects Xanxus unless they're his servants trying to not get killed." came Bel's voice.

"Might this be, Levi-san's admitting that he's weak." came Fran's neutral voice.

"I AM NOT!" roared the voice of the man probably named Levi.

It took Mika a few seconds to realize what room it was coming from. It was the room where she first met Squalo in.

_It looks like they still haven't learned to close the door _thought Mika as she stuck her head in once more.

All the members of the Varia (all except Xanxus) were standing and arguing about.

Two new faces showed up. A man with a shaved head except for some orange and green hair wearing sunglasses, and one with dark skin and strange hair and eyebrows.

She guessed the one wearing sunglasses was Lussuria since he was chasing Squalo around the room trying to fiddle with his hair, and the one with the strange hair was Levi since he was arguing with Bel and Fran.

"Hello." said Mika, quietly, seeing if anyone would notice.

Bel looked over.

"Shishishi, look who's here." he said.

Fran looked over.

"Ah, it's you." he said.

Squalo and Lussuria stopped running.

"Ah, what're you doing here?" asked Squalo.

The one named Lussuria came over to her.

"Ah, what a cute girl!" he said.

Lussuria started fussing over Mika as she stood there having no idea what was going on.

Lussuria lifted a fringe of her hair.

"Ah, what beautiful hair. It resembles Squa's in so many ways!" cried Lussuria in a fit of happiness.

"VOI!!!!! LUSSURIA!! STOP HARASSING CHILDREN!!!" cried Squalo.

"Shishishi, now Lussuria's become a pedophile." said Bel.

"I am not!" called Lussuria.

"Right......" mocked Squalo.

"Um, Hello." said Mika, her tone uneasy.

And with that, the day went by quickly, and soon it was time for the dinner meal.

Again, Byakuran had a plate of sweets, Mika had her salad, and everyone (asides from a few wise individuals) had wine.

After dinner, Mika went up to her room.

As usual, the lights around the mansion were either dimmed or shut off to save energy, since everyone, asides from a few, were in the reception room chatting away.

After an hour or so, Byakuran entered Mika's room.

Her lights were off, since she preferred light in the morning and dark at night.

"Are you okay?" asked Byakuran as he sat down next to Mika on her bed.

"Ah, why do you ask?" asked Mika.

"Shou-chan told me that earlier you took a fall off the balcony." said Byakuran.

"Ah, I think something hit me, but Belphegor-san caught me." said Mika.

"Ah, I see." said Byakuran reaching into his pocket and pulling out a ring.

It was small, with an oval like stone in the middle and wings carved out of silver.

"This will protect you. Wear it every day." said Byakuran.

Mika took it over carefully and examined it.

"Yes, I will." she said.

Byakuran smiled wearily.

"Now, I have to go back to the reception room. See ya." said Byakuran as he got up and headed for the door.

As soon as he closed it, Mika fell backwards onto the bed.

"This ring is supposed to protect me, huh." she murmured under her breath.

**Sorry if this chapter is a bit short, but I had to do homework and I felt it was a good place to end it~**


	9. Meeting Daisy

**For some reason I feel this story is getting more and more awkward to write XD**

It was Mika's first night sleeping on the bed.

As she lay down in her pajamas, she thought about the bed in the orphanage, how it was hard and the wool covers were scratchy.

This bed, however, was the softest thing she had ever lain down on. The covers were linen and the mattress was like a cloud.

Mika thought it might have been the best night of sleep she ever had.

* * * * *

Mika (and probably the whole rest of the castle) awoke to a loud VOI that came from the third floor.

The sudden noise caused her to choke a little.

She yawned, then moaned tiredly, as the sun beat through the curtains, signaling that it was day.

Reluctantly, Mika got up, washed, and dressed.

"Good morning." yawned Byakuran, as his hair was messier than usual, and there were signs that he was woken abruptly as well, followed by a tired Shoichi with bags under his eyes.

On her way down to breakfast, Mika stopped on the third floor.

"Chii, you should keep it down, Squalo, princes don't like to be abruptly woken." came a messy haired Belphegor, followed by a tired and yawning Fran, and an irritated Squalo.

"Shut up, like I wanted to wake up face to face with LUSSURIA." Squalo spat Lussuria's name like it was a curse.

"Shishishi, not my fault if you're having an affair." laughed Bel.

"WE'RE NOT HAVING AN AFFAIR!!" yelled Squalo.

"I was just trying to wake Squa up." said Lussuria.

"WELL I DON'T ENJOY WAKING UP AND HAVING YOUR FACE THAT CLOSE TO MINE." cried Squalo.

"Ushishishi, queer." laughed Bel.

"SHADUP." spat Squalo.

"Good morning." Mika said uneasily.

She yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"Shishishi, see, you woke everyone up with your rude voice." said Bel.

"Sempai's right. Squalo-san's too loud." said Fran.

At breakfast, Mika coincidentally found herself sitting next to Hibari again.

"Good morning." said Mika, noticing that Hibari's aura was slightly different than usual.

Instead of the usual aura, this aura was much more irritated with a sense of murder and the undoubting lack of sleep. His eyes had more of a glare than usual.

"I don't see what's so good about it." said Hibari.

"You're alive." said Mika.

"And frankly, there's someone who shouldn't be." said Hibari.

"Who?" asked Mika, even thought it was obvious who it would be.

"You should know. You don't look to glad about this morning either." responded Hibari before letting out a huge yawn and rubbing at the rings under his eyes.

"What time is it?" Mika asked Byakuran.

"Hmn? Shou-chan, what time is it?" asked Byakuran.

Shoichi looked down at his watch.

"Approximately 6 am." he responded.

Mika yawned.

"So…tired." she murmured.

"Ah, but the good news is, a few of my treasured subordinates are joining are today." replied Byakuran with a smile.

"Hmn, who might they be?" asked Mika.

"Ah, you'll get to meet them later. Shou-chan informed me that they would rather wake up later." said Byakuran.

_Smart decision _thought Mika.

After breakfast, Mika wandered around the castle to the forth floor, where she stopped to admire some daisies that were growing inside an expensive looking vase.

The air was suddenly surrounded in a mass of strange and unfamiliar aura, both murderous and cold.

Mika's first instinct was to turn around, only to see a figure whose face was covered with scars and long, dull green hair. Clutched in its hands was a ripped and also scarred bunny doll.

Mika's first reaction was to scream.

"KYAAAA!!!!"

Her shriek echoed across the corridor.

Mika collapsed against the wall, thoughts racing through her head.

Who was this? What did they want?

"I'm…Daisy….and…..this....is for you…." he spoke.

His hand reached out, in it was clutched a withered flower.

Mika felt frightened. She closed her eyes in fear.

The cold aura surrounded Mika.

The hand, slow and shaking, approached her.

Suddenly, the figure was restricted, with a vine of some sort. He was pulled back and set on the floor.

"Sorry, Daisy must have run off while my back was turned. Daisy has a weakness for the beautiful and fragile ones." came a less than familiar voice.

Mika opened one eye, then both.

"Ah…Kikyo-san, was it?" said Mika.

"O-ho, are you okay?" asked Kikyo, though his tone of voice seemed like it couldn't care less.

"Ah, yes, thank you." replied Mika.

"Ah, Mika-chan, are you okay?" came the voice of Byakuran.

Mika looked over to see Byakuran strolling down the corridor, followed by an always frantic Shoichi.

"Ah, yes." responded Mika.

"Oh, it seems like Daisy got away from Kikyo-kun again." said Byakuran.

"I apologize, Byakuran-sama." replied Kikyo, kneeling down on one knee.

"It's okay, as long as he doesn't kill anyone in this castle." said Byakuran.

As soon as Kikyo and Daisy were gone, Byakuran came over to Mika.

"I was going to introduce you to them all at once, but it seems Daisy has found you already." said Byakuran.

"What….was….." Mika began.

"Daisy is a zombie that lives to kill." replied Byakuran, with an utterly strange smile that probably shouldn't be there.

"Eh?" Mika responded.

"Oh, did I scare you? Sorry." replied Byakuran.

Mika couldn't think of a response to his statement. Instead, she straightened herself up.

"So…." Mika began.

"I guess I'll introduce you to them later. Right now," began Byakuran.

"Do your paperwork." replied Shoichi sternly.

"All right, I'll do my paperwork." sighed Byakuran.

"See ya~" called Byakuran as he went back down the hallway.

"Be careful." said Shoichi as he went back to following Byakuran.

Mika found herself on the third floor again, this time in the middle of a 'colorful' conversation between the Vongola.

"Calm down, everyone." said Tsuna.

"I refuse to be in the same environment with that loud imbecile." replied an irritated blue-haired woman.

"Lal Mirch-san…" began Tsuna.

"VOI! You try waking up with a QUEER that close to you face!!!" yelled Squalo.

"Shut up." replied the blue haired woman.

"Juudaime, she's right. It's only 7:30 and we're supposed to have just woken up." replied Gokudera.

"No doubt it is early, but there's no [direct] reason to blame Squalo-san." replied Tsuna.

"Well, I'm fine, since I'm used to waking up early." replied a smiling Yamamoto.

"Well, we can't ALL be baseball fanatics like you." muttered Gokudera.

"I guess so." laughed Yamamoto.

"But waking up early once in a while might benefit you." said Mika.

"She's right." said Reborn from on top of Tsuna's head.

"Might be fine with you, but I prefer to wake up when I feel like it." said Lal.

"And I prefer NOT waking up with some QUEER in my face." spat Squalo.

"Can we stop arguing?" said Tsuna wearily.

"Whatever. I'm going somewhere else." said Lal as she folded her arms as left the room.

"Chii." spat Gokudera.

Since that was about over, Mika decided to go visit Byakuran as he did his paperwork.

She found him in his "office" on the fifth floor.

I wasn't much of an office.

It was a large room with a glass wall that let you see the back of the castle, which was a beach or shoreline of some sort. Inside the room were two white sofas in the middle of the room, with a glass table in the middle of them. The rest of the room was white and adorned with many things such as orchid flowers in various white vases.

Byakuran sat in the middle of the room on one of the sofas, reading a bunch of papers and eating marshmallows.

Mika knocked on the door.

"Byakuran nii-san?" she asked.

"Oya, Mika-chan, is that you?" asked Byakuran.

"Yes." replied Mika.

"Come on in." said Byakuran.

Mika opened one of the large white double doors.

She stepped inside and closed it behind her.

Shoichi looked up from his clipboard.

"Is anything the matter?" asked Byakuran as he picked up a marshmallow from the table and popped it in his mouth.

"No, I just felt like seeing how you were doing?" replied Mika.

"Well, come sit down then." said Byakuran as he patted the sofa.

Mika sat down next to Byakuran.

She peered over at his papers.

"Whao*." she gasped.

Mika marveled at all the large number at the bottom of the paper next to the label that read 'This Month's Profit'

"So many zeros......." she said.

"You think so? It's less than last month's, since we've spent some of this month's on the festival." said Byakuran with a smile.

"Do you want to see last month's?" asked Byakuran.

Mika nodded.

Byakuran reached onto the table and took a piece of paper that rested on top of the pile.

He handed the paper to Mika.

Mika glanced at it.

"W-whao.................." she marveled at the sight of the large (very large) number at the bottom of the page.

_Mafia families sure make a lot of money_ she thought.

She handed the paper back to Byakuran, who put it back on top of the pile.

"Ah, that's right." said Byakuran as he stood up.

"Come." he gestured to Mika.

"Wait, Byakuran-san, finish your paperwork!" called Shoichi.

"I'll do it later." said Byakuran.

Shoichi sighed.

_That's what you've been saying for the last two weeks..._ he thought.

Byakuran led Mika to the fourth floor and to a room with a wooden double door and an assortment of flowers in a vase at the side.

Byakuran opened one of the double doors.

"Mika-chan, I'd like you to meet valued members of my family," said Byakuran, "The Real Six Funeral Wreaths"

* I meant to use Whao because Whoa makes a different sound when you read it........

**Yay~ Another chapter is up~**

**Sorry haven't updated in a while, I had homework and a story to write for class **


	10. Truth or Not

**Back~ Yay, my essays are finished so I can now have more free time to LIVE XD (and read reborn manga XD Yay~)**

Mika looked into the room, surprised.

Sure enough, Kikyo was there, and so was Daisy, clutching his scarred bunny doll.

There were three that she did not know, one red haired male, a (naked) blue haired girl floating in a tank, and one huge giant wearing a mask and a cloak.

The girl floating in the tank of water went up and lifted half of her body out of the tank with her arms.

"Who's that?" she asked in a sharp immature voice.

Byakuran smiled.

"This is my little sister." he said.

"I didn't know you have one!" exclaimed the blue haired girl.

"Now, Bluebell, show some respect, and since you're a girl, you should put some clothes on." said Kikyo.

"Fine, fine." mumbled Bluebell as she got out of the tank and threw on a cloak.

Mika blinked.

The girl was about one head shorter than Mika.

Byakuran smiled the started introducing people.

"You already know Kikyo-kun and Daisy." he began.

"That's Bluebell." he said, referring to the blue haired girl.

"That's Zakuro." he said, gesturing to a red haired male looking bored on the couch.

"And that's Torikabuto." Byakuran finished, gesturing to a male (as it seemed) covered with a large cloak and a red mask.

Mika counted.

"That's five," she said, "Aren't there six?" she asked.

Byakuran scratched his head.

"Um...the sixth member is in...um...ah....not here right now." said Byakuran.

"Ah, okay." said Mika.

"So Byakuran, this your kid sister?" asked the girl named Bluebell.

"Yup~" said Byakuran.

"Hello." said Mika, trying to be polite.

Bluebell didn't respond, her face in a pouting stage, as her eyes seemed to examine Mika.

Mika felt slightly uncomfortable at that stage.

"Uh...."

* * * * *

After the (unusual) introduction, Mika decided to see if she could meet more members of either Vongola or Millifiore.

Mika found Gokudera on the third floor balcony that faced the forest.

"Hello." greeted Mika as she approached them.

Gokudera looked over his shoulder.

"Ah, Mika." said Gokudera

"Hello, Hayato-san." asked Mika.

Gokudera looked at her.

"What're you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your brother?" he asked.

Mika shook her head.

"Shoichi-san dragged him back to finish his paperwork." she responded.

"Byakuran's always been carefree like that." responded Gokudera.

"Really?" said Mika.

Gokudera looked away from Mika.

He felt somewhat uncomfortable around her. He didn't know what this feeling was. It felt like guilt, or maybe sorrow, it might even be pity.

"Hey, how's life?" he asked Mika.

"Hm, its fine." she said.

"Really." said Gokudera as he sighed.

"Is something the matter?" asked Mika.

"When I first found out Byakuran was your brother, I thought it was strange. A long time ago, my father told me that you weren't from an orphanage, but that you were especially given to our family by your own family." said Gokudera.

"Heh?" Mika felt confused. She would have been able to remember her own family, if that was the case.

"Also, if I remembered correctly, you were the only child." said Gokudera.

Mika paused to think about it.

"Um...what was this family...like?" she asked.

Gokudera sighed and thought for a moment, his head resting on his hand.

"They were rich, I think. The woman had...chestnut hair, I think. It was curled and tied into a ball at the back of her head. She was tall and slender. The man had white hair. He wore this blue suit and white cravat. He was also tall and masculine." said Gokudera.

"So that's what my parents looked like." said Mika, as she leaned against the balcony and thought about it.

"Ne, do you remember why they gave me to your family?" asked Mika.

Gokudera nodded, but remained silent.

"Can you tell me?" asked Mika.

Gokudera still remained silent.

"I....don't think you want to hear it." said Gokudera.

Mika looked at him, her eyes in a way that was almost pleading.

"Please? It can't be all that bad." said Mika.

"I..."

"Please, Hayato-san." said Mika.

Gokudera paused for a second, his teeth clenched, they he eased a little.

"...Take her...please...take her away...I don't want this devil child any longer......"

* * * * *

"...I can't stand it.....all this child ever does is bring us misery and suffering....nothing good...can come out of keeping her any longer. Use her.......kill her.....sell her. Anything is fine. I don't want her anymore. Please....take her...."

In her arms, the woman clutched a child, no older than three years old.

She reached her arms out, holding the baby out, begging for a man to take it.

"Please....."

Behind the man, stood two children, a small silver haired boy that looked no older than the child of the woman, and a pink haired girl, slightly older than that of the boy.

The man responded, his voice firm.

"If I take this child, you will not be allowed to see her anymore."

The woman's face looked up.

"Yes. Wonderful. That is just what I want. Just take her.....away from me." she said.

Soon, the woman and her husband were gone.

Just as soon, the little girl, whose eyes wavered as if she had been drugged, passed out.

"What a sickening woman. It disgusts me."

* * * * *

Slowly, Gokudera told her the story, at least the part that he remembered.

Mika looked down, her hair slightly covered her face.

As Gokudera solemnly told her the story, Mika simply nodded and remained silent.

When Gokudera was finished, Mika looked up at him, her face in an expression that depicted both sorrow and disbelief.

"Mika...." Gokudera said.

Just then, a maid popped up.

"Excuse me, but, lunch is ready." she said politely.

"Ah, thank you." said Gokudera, as he and Mika made their way down to the dining room.

Mika sat down solemnly down at her usual place next to Byakuran.

Byakuran seemed to notice her sadness.

"Hmn, Mika-chan, is something wrong?" he asked, his face in its usual smiley state.

Mika looked up.

"No, nothing's wrong." she responded, trying to look and sound as fine as possible.

"Are you sure? If you ever need anything, just come to me." replied Byakuran.

Mika nodded.

"Thank you." she responded.

Mika spent the whole meal thinking about what Gokudera said.

If she was an only child, then why did Byakuran claim to be her brother? Maybe he made a mistake. Maybe his real younger sister was somewhere else in Italy, maybe somewhere else in the world right now. Maybe, somewhere, there was another Mika in the world, sitting at a window, wondering when her older brother would come to find her.

Mika wanted to ask Byakuran about it, but she was afraid to, since, Gokudera said that he wasn't sure. Maybe the couple that gave her away had another son, one that they didn't bring along that day.

With each new question, Mika became more and more confused. Exactly what was the truth and what wasn't?

What was to be trusted and what wasn't?

After lunch, Mika went up to her room. She opened the door to the balcony and stood outside, still wondering what was true and what was not.

She must have fallen asleep, since the next thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Daisy, standing there, and watching her, his eyes still as wide and creepy as ever.

Mika shrieked.

Now she knew what Squalo felt, opening your eyes to see the face of someone you would least expect to see.

**Kind of a strange way to end a chapter? I suppose so~ =3**

**Well, sorry for updating late, but my procrastinating personality allowed me to sleep and draw and do homework before fan fiction T.T**

**Review? :3 thanks~**


	11. A Ghost?

**I feel awkward writing this story. I was reading the newest REBORN! manga and Byakuran seems more and more evil so it's hard making him seen like the good guy. XD**

Mika was speechless.

She didn't expect to have fallen asleep while on the balcony, nor did she suspect that Daisy would be there when she woke.

Daisy stood there motionless, clutching his scarred bunny. Mika looked up, fearful.

She looked at him, and gulped, since she didn't know what to expect.

Daisy did nothing but stand there for a second, his eyes wide and staring.

Mika took one step backwards, her hands and back against the rails of the balcony.

Daisy took one step forward as well, the same foot and the same distance.

Mika went backwards again, and fell over.

"Ah-" Mika didn't know what to expect, so she closed her eyes.

It wasn't very pleasant falling down from the fifth floor of a very tall castle.

THUMP

"Agh-" cried a male voice.

Mika opened her eyes.

Sure enough she had landed without injury, but what she sat on was not the ground.

"Ah....ouch...what the....." came the familiar voice from a familiar silver headed male.

"Ah, Hayato-san! I'm so sorry...." said Mika as she stood up and lowered her head in apology.

Gokudera got up and rubbed his back.

"Agh...ah, Mika, are you okay? What were you doing, falling down from..." Hayato began.

"The fifth floor." said Mika.

"How did you fall?" asked Gokudera.

Mika thought about Daisy and the incident, but decided not to say anything about it.

"Ah, I fell asleep against the rails of the balcony." responded Mika, her voice sounding embarrassed.

Gokudera rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, try to be more careful. If I wasn't here at the time..." said Gokudera.

"I'm really sorry for landing on you." said Mika, her head still lowered.

"It's okay, you're fine, at least." said Gokudera.

* * * * *

Mika went back to her room, buy Daisy wasn't there anymore.

_He probably left, or someone went to get him_ thought Mika.

Soon enough, a maid was sent to her room to inform her that dinner was ready. Mika was a bit surprised, since she hadn't actually realized how long she had slept on the balcony.

Ever since she was little, people had told her she had a tendency to space out.

She had never noticed this until the incident with Daisy.

Mika checked the time, only to see that it was already 6:32 pm.

_I must have really been tired...._ thought Mika.

* * * * *

Dinner was the same as it ever was.

Again, Byakuran showed no concern for his irregular amounts of sugar consumption, and Mika found herself next to Hibari, who had somehow managed to bring in Hibird, who was perched on his shoulder.

* * * * *

Mika usually avoided the reception room for the night, but tonight was different.

Byakuran let her stay until it was "too violent for the eyes of an innocent child".

Mika had many objections to his statement, but she decided to keep them to herself, since he had been kind enough to let her go into the reception room, despite his own beliefs.

It was quite a large room, since it could fit the majority of the Vongola and Millefiore with space to spare.

The walls were lined with beige wallpaper and the floor was a layer of brown embroidered carpet.

It was mostly people lounging around in chairs and drinking wine, with others who stood and chatted, and others who played poker.

Mika sat with Byakuran as he chatted with members of Vongola and Millefiore.

Soon enough, as Byakuran predicted, someone went drunk and started up a riot. Sure enough, this person happened to be Lussuria, who was now attempting to grope each person in a ten mile radius.

Those who were lucky enough avoided having their privacy invaded.

Those who were unlucky attempted to murder him.

Byakuran sighed nervously.

He signaled for Shoichi to bring Mika somewhere else.

Shoichi sighed but obeyed, and the two of them headed for the exit.

Shoichi was one of the unlucky ones, for as they were reaching the exit, one unbelonging hand found itself on the surface of Shoichi's backside.

"AI!!!" he shrieked as his face turned bright red.

Mika looked back as Shoichi lay on the floor, backside thrust straight up, out cold (probably from the shock).

In view, came the face of Lussuria, as his drunken state of mind caused him to think he was a pervert of some sort.

Mika felt sorry for Shoichi, but Byakuran's nervous facial expression told her to "go on without him".

Not wanting to suffer the same fate, Mika hurried out of the Reception room and closed the door behind her.

Relieved, she made her way up the stairs to the fifth floor. There, she closed the door to her room and lay down on the bed, letting the night air blow the lace curtains that covered the open door to her balcony.

The only light that cam into the room was from the moon. The silver rays illuminated the light blue carpet.

The only sound came from the chaos three floors down.

Mika sighed.

This was about as much silence as she could get for now.

_Kufufu~_

A light sound echoed through the curtains.

Mika sat up, brushing the hair out of her eyes. There was no one there, only the shadows that were on the other side of the room.

Mika lay back down on the bed.

_It was probably the wind, _she thought.

_Kufufufufu~_

Another string of laughter echoed, this time slightly louder.

Mika sat up again, her tired eyes scanning the room.

All she saw was the light of the moon that came in from the open balcony.

_Kufufufu~_

"Is anyone there?" she whispered, but gently, as not to make herself sound crazy.

"My, my, what do we have here?" came a less than familiar male voice.

Mika looked around, but saw no one.

A black gloved hand reached forward and gently grasped her right hand.

"My, looks like Byakuran gave you his ring."

Mika turned her head to face forward, and in front of her, she saw nothing other than a pineapple shape.

"You're..."

_Kufufufu~_

"Pineapple head?" Mika asked.

An eerie silence filled the room.

Mika blinked.

The pineapple headed figure did not respond, but his ever smiling facial expression did not change.

A few silent seconds passed.

"I'll forgive you, since you don't know any better." replied the pineapple figure.

"Hmn?" Mika felt confused.

A ray of moonlight made its way towards her bed.

Finally, the pineapple figure's face was clear.

"Ah, Mukuro-san!" Mika gasped.

Mukuro sighed.

"Hmn? What is it?" asked Mika.

Mukuro continued examining her hand, but more specifically, he was examining the ring. He turned her hand over and over, then touched the ring with one gloved finger.

"Interesting, I wonder if this is real or fake." he murmured.

"Eh? What do you mean by...fake?" asked Mika, for she had no idea what Mukuro was talking about.

Mukuro chuckled.

"I wonder if you even know how to use it." Mukuro murmured, his face in an expression that stated he was amused.

"Uh....use what?" asked Mika, for now she really didn't know what topic Mukuro was referring to.

"This ring." said Mukuro, as he held up Mika's hand for her to see.

Mika thought for a moment.

_How to use a ring...asides from showing off, I don't really know...._

"Um...no." replied Mika.

Mukuro closed his eyes and chuckled again.

He gently let go of Mika's hand and took a few steps back from her bed.

"I guess he hasn't told you yet." murmured Mukuro.

Mika blinked.

"Hmn? Told me what?" she asked in her small innocent voice.

Mukuro was gone.

Mika sat up and looked around. Mukuro was not there. The strange part is, she didn't know where he went and how he left. Mika rubbed her eyes and blinked a few times, scanning the room in curiosity.

Everything was exactly the same as it had been before Mukuro came.

Her dresser was in a corner, next to her desk and the door to her bathroom.

Mika started to shiver, thinking back to all the horror stories she used to hear when she lived in the village about ghosts that could appear and disappear in the blink of an eye.

She remembered her encounter with Mukuro the other day, how he had disappeared in an instant.

Mika was suddenly scared.

When she was little, she used to crawl up with the other children after hearing ghost stories told by the parents and elders. They would spend the night together, shivering under one blanket.

Mika grasped her own sheet and curled up in a corner of her bed. She rested her head on her knees. She could practically hear her own heartbeat hasten.

* * * * *

It was practically and hour before Byakuran came back.

Mika had fallen asleep while hugging her knees.

Mika heard a doorknob turn, and jerked up.

"Eh..."

From the other side of the room, the door opened to reveal Byakuran's smiling face.

He closed the door and walked slowly over to her bed, his shoes making almost no sound as he traveled across the carpeted floor.

"Mika-chan, is everything alright?" he asked.

Mika's first question came.

"Um....are there ghosts in the castle?" she asked, hiding her face in her knees.

Byakuran looked confused for a second.

He thought for a minute.

"Ghosts? Not that I know of. Why, did you see one?" he asked, his face returning to a smile.

Mika looked down.

"..."

Byakuran sat down on her bed.

"Come on, you can tell me anything." he said, his facial expression warm and kind, yet cold in a way.

Mika blushed with embarrassment.

"Uh...no....it's nothing." she replied.

"You sure?" asked Byakuran.

Mika silently nodded.

"Alright then. Good night." whispered Byakuran as he stood up and left.

The moonlight passed through the lace curtains, and in the distance, and owl hooted.

"Good night....huh."

**A very strange place to end? Yes I suppose.**

**I'm still contemplating how to end this story, though.**

**Review? 0w0**


	12. Ring?

**Ugh…I'm getting lazy XD, now that the new Reborn manga is out (Even though Byaku-wan's evil, I still lub 'im =D)**

"Mika-chan? It's time to wake up! Come on!"

Mika groaned in her sleep as she felt two hands rest upon her shoulder and attempt to wake her up.

"Mika-chan? Are you okay?"

Mika struggled to open her eyelids.

She sat up on her bed and yawned, oblivious to the crowd standing around her.

"Mika-chan! You're finally awake!"

Mika rubbed her eyes and turned to the side.

She could only see a tired blur of non other than Byakuran, standing and smiling like nothing bad had ever happened to him.

Mika yawned again.

Clearly, it was morning.

Mika looked around.

The window was open, Byakuran was standing in front of her, and the rest of the room was exactly as it was supposed to be.

Mika looked around again.

Something felt odd to her.

It was a small detail, but it was hard to think of.

Yawning, Mika stood up.

"Good morning, Byakuran-nii-san." she murmured.

"Good Morning." replied Byakuran.

Sighing, Mika reached onto her nightstand, feeling around for what she needed.

It was there Mika realized what was wrong.

The ring was gone.

A cold shiver shot up her spine.

_It probably dropped somewhere on the ground, or maybe the wind blew it somewhere._

Just then, Mika realized that she did not remember ever taking off the ring as she fell asleep.

Mika glanced down at her right hand, then at her left.

No, the ring was nowhere on her hands as well.

_Most likely, it fell from my hand while I was sleeping._

Decided she would search for the ring later, Mika headed towards her bathroom to wash.

Reaching towards the doorknob of her bathroom, she felt a surge of electricity shock her fingertips.

She pulled her hand back.

Byakuran turned to face her.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. From now on, your room and most of my private rooms can only be opened by someone who wears the ring of our family, the Mare Rings. Some rooms might be able to be opened by those wearing the rings of allied families, such as the Vongola." he said.

Mika sighed.

_Oh great…this will be much harder without the ring….._

Suddenly, Mika recalled her last encounter with Mukuro.

He seemed like someone crafty enough to steal the ring and use it for his own malicious purposes.

Mika sighed.

_No, Mukuro's part of the Vongola. They're allies, aren't they? I'm sure he wouldn't do something like this…..would he?_

Quickly, Mika yanked open the bathroom door, ignoring the small electric shocks.

By the time she let go, her fingertips were slightly singed.

Byakuran over again as he was leaving.

"Mika-chan, you might wanna wear your ring while opening door from now on. Your bathroom door isn't set to shock with that many volts, but any other important doors, such as yours, may have up to 10,000 or more volts of electricity, but that depends on the door. And either way, they're electrified on both sides of the door, so whichever side of the doorknob one touches they will get shocked either way, so it's like entering and leaving a room can give someone up to 20,000 volts of shock. But yet again, that's what keeps the castle safe." he said as he smiled and closed to door.

Ignoring the open bathroom door, Mika went over to her bed on flopped down face forward.

"…….uhh…." she sighed as she stood up again.

There was no way she could leave her room. Like Byakuran said, she could get up to 10,000 volts of shock by just touching the doorknob.

Mika looked around her room.

Rubber gloves would do, but she doubted they would protect against 10,000 volts of electricity.

Mika sighed and continued to think.

She looked around and on her bed for the ring, but it was nowhere to be seen.

Sighing, Mika headed towards the bathroom to wash.

After dressing and combing her hair, she suddenly thought of the balcony.

She doubted anyone would be there to catch her this time, for if falling down a balcony two times didn't' kill her, third time's the charm.

With a slim strand of hope in mind, Mika walked over to the balcony and looked down.

A gust of wind blew.

She might not have noticed it before, but it was seriously a long way down.

Mika gulped.

Unfortunately, it was either this or being exposed to up to 10,000 volts of electric shock.

However, Byakuran and the others might find it awkward if she came in through the window.

Mika sighed and decided to take her chances with being questioned why she came in through the window rather than being questioned why she had her hair singed off.

Although, there was also another possibility that she would slip, fail, and probably die from direct impact with the hard ground.

Mika decided to take her chances.

As she was about to climb over the railing of her balcony, she heard the doorknob click, signaling that the door was opening.

"Mika, are you coming down to breakfast?" came a familiar voice.

Mika turned around to see the face of Gokudera appearing in the doorway.

"Ah! Hayato-san!" said Mika.

She ran over to Gokudera and embraced him in a hug.

Gokudera choked and blushed.

"Eh…"

"At least now I don't have to climb off the balcony…" she murmured.

Gokudera paused to take in the moment.

In fact, he was hopelessly confused.

Mika let go when she realized what she was doing.

She straightened herself out and blushed.

She explained herself to Gokudera as they walked down to the dining room.

"So Byakuran rigged the some doors to shock and or incinerate anyone who didn't wear a familiar ring?"

Mika nodded.

Gokudera scoffed.

"The guy should think more before he does these things." he murmured.

Mika shook her head.

"But, it's my fault that I lost his ring." she replied.

Gokudera looked at her.

"Hmn? What ring? When?"

Mika suddenly realized that Gokudera had never seen her ring before.

"Um…Byakuran-nii-san gave me this ring that he said was supposed to keep me safe. Yesterday night, I met Mukuro-san." she said.

Gokudera scoffed.

"That pineapple guy…always stalking people…" he murmured.

"And it was at time or later, I think, I lost the ring that Byakuran-nii-san gave me." said Mika.

Gokudera scoffed again.

"That jerk, always stalking people and doing whatever he wants. I personally think the boss should yell at him or something." said Gokudera, referring to Mukuro.

Mika chuckled slightly.

"Tsunayoushi-san seems like a really nice person." she commented.

Gokudera smiled slightly.

"Tenth is the best!" he said.

Soon they reached the dining room.

"Ah Mika-chan! There you are!" called Byakuran as he patted the seat next to him.

Mika smiled and went over, sitting down carefully next to him.

She ate silently, occasionally smiling.

Byakuran glanced at her a few times, but overall he kept talking with others from the Vongola and from his own family.

Mika tried to keep her right hand hidden, and held a fork with her left hand.

She was a bit clumsy with her left hand, but it would do. Byakuran might notice if both of her hands were on the table and the ring was missing from her right.

After the meal, Gokudera brought Mika to Tsuna.

Apparently, Gokudera was not that pleased with the idea of Mukuro, and said he brought a bad name upon the Vongola.

"Tenth! I'm telling you. That pineapple guy is up to no good!"

Tsuna sweatdropped and tried to calm Gokudera down.

"Well, we have no proof that Mukuro actually did take Mika's ring." replied Tsuna.

Gokudera clenched his teeth.

"But, Tenth, think about it. That guy's always up to no good."

Tsuna sighed.

"But still, he might not have been the one who stole it. If I recall, you said that anyone from Vongola or Millefiore could have access to Mika's room."

"That is true." interrupted a familiar voice.

The trio turned around to face a messy haired Shoichi carrying his usual clipboard of papers that Byakuran neglected.

"Ah! Irie-san!" greeted Tsuna.

"It is true that anyone from Millefiore or Vongola can have access to Mika's room, but the ring that Mika has is only a copy of Byakuran-san's real Mare Ring." said Shoichi.

"No, no, Shou-chan. Mika-chan's ring was real."

The group of four turned around to face an unusually smiley Byakuran, who had his hands in his pockets and was grinning with glee.

"B-b-Byakuran-san!" gasped Shoichi.

"Byakuran-nii-san!" called Mika.

Byakuran smiled and waved.

"Hiya~"

"Byakuran-san, you gave Mika-san the real Mare sky ring?" asked Shoichi in a hurry.

"Yeah," replied Byakuran, "Is something the matter?"

Mika blushed with nervousness, turning her head to the side.

"Umn…" she murmured.

Byakuran looked up.

"Hmn, Mika-chan, is something the matter?" he asked.

"The truth is…." started Mika.

"….I lost…….the ring….you gave me….." she murmured.

Byakuran opened his eyes.

"Sorry……." finished Mika.

Byakuran smiled again.

"I'm guessing a mischievous little pineapple must have swiped it."

All four looked up at Byakuran.

"Eh? Byakuran-san, how did you know?" asked Tsuna.

Byakuran chuckled.

"It's an instinct, I suppose. However, don't worry. By the time I'm through, we're gonna have another little pineapple under the sea."

Tsuna sweatdropped.

"With your permission, of course, Tsunayoushi-kun." replied Byakuran with a smile.

Gokudera's eyes lit up.

"Tenth! What do you think?" he asked.

Tsuna sighed.

"Well, if Mika gets her ring back, that's good enough. I mean, we don't have to be too rash, do we?" he asked.

Byakuran smiled.

"Well, okay then. I'll be pineapple hunting if you need me." he called and strolled off.

Shoichi turned around and ran after him.

"Wait! Byakuran-san! You still have paperwork to do." he called.

Mika sighed.

Byakuran would probably do anything if it meant he didn't have to do paperwork.

**Hello!**

**Sorry if I haven't uploaded in a long time.**

**I have homework TTTT**

**Review? :3 Thanks~**


	13. Distrust

**Agh, I'm so tired~**

**Now that the future arc is over (manga), I feel like starting a new story, although I know I have to finish this one first =w= (AND SO I WILL~) Although it might be really slow =w= (I seriously hate end of the year work .)**

Mika knew that her ring was still missing, but a part of her felt it was her fault and no one else's.

Although the others were convinced that it was stolen, Mika was not.

When she was little, Gokudera had always called her 'a little stubborn'.

Being that they were only around five, Mika would always respond 'and you're just plain stupid'.

The both of them would then laugh and continue to call each other names until they ran out of insults.

Wherever she went, there was always someone who would tell Mika she was either 'ignorant or stubborn'. It was never meant as an insult, but being that she was, she had always felt insulted, even if it was said in a way that was meant as a compliment.

Mika was always slow to accept things whether it was the truth or not. She felt better clinging on to her own beliefs.

At the moment, she believed that Mukuro was innocent.

After aimlessly wandering around her room and looking in small places for a while, Mika sighed and sat down on her bed.

A portion of her was starting to believe that Mukuro really was guilty of theft, but since majority usually ruled, she clung on to her belief that she had lost the ring last night when she had drifted off to sleep in an awkward and uncomfortable position, curled up in fetal position in a far corner of her bed with her head tilted dangerously to the side.

Mika sighed and laid down on her bed.

She glanced up at the ceiling whose light color was softly illuminated by the rays of the morning sun that shone in through the open glass doors and drawn back curtains that separated her room from the small balcony.

This same balcony was the one on which she had taken a fall twice and had miraculously survived thanks to fate and the undeniable strength of men in the mafia.

Mika sighed softly, then flipped her body around and buried her chin in an unusually soft pillow whose sole purpose was to serve as a decoration on her bed.

Feeling hopeless, Mika slowly stood up.

After straightening the fabric of her clothing, she began to stroll to the door.

'_It's not here…' _she thought out loud.

One step at a time, Mika descended the long staircase that connected all five floors and the roof of the castle.

The carpeted steps made good support for her feet, which were loosely buckled into custom made eighty millimeter heeled boots.

Although Mika had experienced the feeling of high heeled shoes, she had never worn anything will a heel as thin and unsupportive as those of the shoes that she wore right now.

Honestly, she didn't know how the rich and the famous could deal with such thin and wobbly heels. One wrong move on a long stairwell and they could be done for.

Mika walked slowly down, watching her steps carefully so not to trip.

She could not quite figure out how other people did it.

All the rich figures she used to see could walk fine wearing even one hundred millimeter heels. In fact, she had even seen a woman who wore red stiletto crunch boots with heels that looked like they could even measure one hundred fifty millimeters.

Mika sighed and stopped a few steps before the third floor to adjust her boots and quickly massage the heel of her left foot.

When she was around eight years old, she had bruised the sole of her foot wadding in a stream to wash. She had tripped against a rounded rock and her left heel had impacted with sharp but rounded one.

Mika pouted lightly as she slipped her foot back into her boot.

Trying to seem as nonchalant as possible, Mika continued down the stairs.

Mika stopped at the third floor.

She brushed a few stray strand of hair out of her eyes then proceeded down the hallway.

There was really no particular reason she was there, but she felt as if there was something she needed to do there.

Wandering without a purpose was very awkward but it gave her a feeling that she would find a purpose as she moved along.

As she neared a more familiar part of the hallway, a voice from behind stopped her.

"Kufufu, and where might you be going?"

Mika stopped and turned around to face nothing but an empty hallway.

A familiar essence filled her surroundings and a shadow was cast over her front.

Mika immediately turned back around to meet the glance of a familiar indigo haired pineapple head.

"Mukuro-san!" she managed to choke out.

Mukuro stepped closer, his bicolored eyes and wide, nonchalant smile came into full view.

Mika stood motionless and swallowed slowly, her throat burning with questions that she wished to interrogate him with, the most important one being about her ring.

"Uh, Mukuro-san, did you-" _steal my ring? Because if you did, I would appreciate if you gave it back right away or I'll tell my brother and he'll send you to the depths of the ocean. _Those were the words that she had meant to say.

The indigo haired illusionist raised an eyebrow, but his smile remained nonchalant.

"Did I what?"

Mika suddenly fell speechless.

For a moment, she thought he would get bored and leave, but he simply responded, "Yes."

Mika snapped out of her trance.

"Ah, what?"

Mukuro chuckled.

"If you're going to ask if I stole your ring, I'm going to respond yes and no." he replied.

Mika blinked and stared at him.

"W-what does that mean?" she asked, her voice lined with confusion.

Mukuro chuckled once more and stepped back a few inches.

"I may have in my possession your ring, but I did not steal it from you. I happened to have acquired it from someone else." he explained.

Mika raised an eyebrow.

"What does that mean?" she asked, her suspicions rising.

Mukuro smiled.

He reached his right hand forward and with his index and middle finger, lifted up Mika's chin so that her head was tilted upwards and her gaze was more focused into his.

Mika shuddered at the sight of his eyes.

They were filled with malicious intent, and his nonchalant grin suddenly grew wider.

He chuckled as he gazed into her eyes.

Mika tried the best to turn away, but Mukuro's thumb held her chin in place.

"This means that I am not the one behind this." he replied, then gently released his grip on Mika's chin.

Mika gazed at him, her eyes filled with the essence of disbelief and fear.

Someone she didn't know was probably up to something. If they had the ability to acquire her ring even under heavily electrified doors, then they might even be someone she knew.

Mika shuddered at the thought that someone she knew, even someone that was very close to her at the moment, could be trying to attempt something.

Mika gathered up the courage to question Mukuro.

She locked gazes once more with the indigo haired illusionist, who smirked as if impressed.

Swallowing hard, Mika spoke.

"Whom or where did you acquire the ring from?" she said slowly as the words refused to leave her vocal cords.

The indigo haired illusionist smirked and chuckled, then began to walk.

He took a few steps forward and slowly leaned into Mika.

Mika froze as she felt his breath on his ear, his cold yet surprisingly warm breath upon the sensitive skin of her outer ear.

"The 'whom' that you ask of is someone you know, indeed."

Mika froze at the sound of his voice as he whispered into her ear.

"It's someone you know, and they are planning something."

Mika's heartbeat quickened as he continued to speak. She could feel chills entering her spine.

"In fact, I'd say you're closer to them than you think."

As Mukuro pulled away, he placed something into her hand then closed her fingers and let her hand fall limply to her side.

With that, the indigo haired illusionist turned around and strolled away.

Although she was still shivering, Mika lifted up the hand where Mukuro had placed something.

Uncurling her fingers one by one, she caught sight of a familiar object.

Mukuro had given her back the ring.

**A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to update =C I apologize to those who thought I had given up on this fic. I haven't given up on this fic and I don't plan too. However, I think I'm gonna change the plot of this. I had originally planned out another plot for this story, but I thought it resembled too much of a sappy drama, so I changed it :3**


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